Recent reports suggest some developers prefer making games on Xbox over PlayStation, and that should worry everyone who owns a console.
For as long as Xbox and PlayStation continue to compete as rivals, so too will the console wars rage on. Fans on either side will celebrate their favorite hardware’s successes and highlight even the slightest misstep by the competition. Gaming is more than its often tribalistic fans, though, and while players might still have a lot to debate, it sounds like Xbox is steaming ahead in the eyes of some developers. The latest creatives to join the Xbox camp are Avalanche Studios, the developer behind the beloved Just Cause series. At this year’s Xbox and Bethesda showcase, which took place at E3 2021 in June, one of the most surprising reveals was that of the exclusive title Contraband – and like most games at the showcase, it will also launch on Xbox Game Pass on day one. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Avalanche’s CEO Pim Holfve explained the draw of working with Xbox isn’t just about cash, but entertainment. “We’re entertaining vast numbers of people,” Holfve said, and Avalanche, it seems, already knows how powerful Xbox Game Pass can be. Four years ago, the company released theHunter: Call of the Wild, and to this day it still has around one million active users, a big chunk of which comes from Game Pass. “Xbox Game Pass was fantastic because we were able to reach so many more players. It’s a good way for people to try [the game].” Cash still will play a part, though – not just in revenue from the Games Pass service, but DLC payments too. Holfve goes on to say that Game Pass gets people interested in the game, and then tempts them to try out the vast catalog of DLC expansions and add-ons, adding that: “the business model really works to our advantage.” No matter how much Avalanche wants to celebrate its new partner, one studio isn’t enough to put Xbox’s army ahead of PlayStation. Avalanche isn’t alone in preferring how Microsoft leads its charge with Xbox Game Pass at the front, and if some reports are to be believed, smaller developers may find it easier to join Xbox’s ranks too.
